Kai Zhang
De-Fine
EN/CHinglish
1 x Blue Velvet Hardcover Instruction Manual
1 x Game Poster/Game Board
This project begins with Chinese and English as its starting points, exploring whether it is possible to communicate and build connections in a low-cost, playful, and human-centered way despite limited knowledge of a language.
The work consists of a puzzle game and a practical handbook, using morphemes and grammar as tools to simplify language. Through the interplay of game and guide, it conveys basic meanings and emotional logic, creating a space for understanding and connection across linguistic boundaries.
1 x Canvas-Bound Hardcover Visual Summary
1 x Recycled Canvas Bookbag
This project draws inspiration from the soul of the client’s fashion artistry, centering on themes of wasteland aesthetics, denim, and eco-pragmatism.
The work comprises three elements: a visual summary encapsulating the brand’s core content, a hand-sized book crafted from recycled aluminum and carbon paper, and a canvas shoulder strap. The entire project is designed without glue or plastic, resulting in a final piece that is deeply aligned with the client’s conceptual vision.
Winter 2025
1 x Marbled paper slipcase
This coffeetable book was created for a winter fashion collection commissioned by fashion designer Weimei.
Drawing inspiration from the collection’s key visual elements, the work incorporates fabric textures and stitching techniques from the garments. Red climbing ropes and faded denim take center stage in the hardcover design, while the spine features exposed Coptic stitching.
The pages are printed on pearl-white paper, enhancing the collection’s organic and rebellious spirit.
Silvertimes
1 x Silver Saddle-Stitched Zine
For this project, the client requested a focus on silver and a connection between the futuristic visions in the books and the memories of a bygone era.
I used silver-coated metal foil for the covers of two books, while the third, an independent zine exploring contemporary ideas, features a cover of fragmented silver cardstock.
The tactile experience of the three volumes shifts from the coldness of metal, to the warmth of paper, and back to cold, creating a cyclical and cohesive whole.
Fahion and Consumerism,
As a New Religion In The Contemporary World.
A tri-fold kraft paper art zine, featuring a cover screen-printed with monochrome and transparent inks on kraft stock, creating a layered, dimensional pattern.
The inner pages are bound using Coptic stitching, combining structural clarity with a tactile, handcrafted quality.
Heya
1 x Side-opening wood-grain slipcase
This photobook emerges from a sustained and intimate dialogue with the photographic artist. The work interrogates the act of looking—specifically, the position of a third-party gaze directed toward the female subject, where observation becomes entangled with projection and control.
Influenced by Perfect Blue, the design translates psychological tension into material form, negotiating boundaries between exposure and concealment.
The slipcase adopts a rigid wood-grain structure rendered in a concrete-toned palette, evoking the duality of enclosure—at once protective and restrictive. Architectural in its presence, it suggests a threshold that both guards and isolates. The peephole and lock motif operate as metaphors of mediated vision, implicating the viewer in an act of quiet surveillance.
Encased within, the book is wrapped in translucent cotton paper, diffusing visibility and softening the act of viewing. This material choice gestures toward an interior space—intimate, protected, and ambiguously private—where the subject resists full exposure.
The package design for an artist-curated exhibition piece, presented as a mid-to-large format landscape photobook. The cover features organic grass paper combined with UV printing, reflecting a restrained material language.
Its minimalist aesthetic is carefully aligned with the photographer’s visual style, creating a quiet and cohesive presentation.
The works of Unit B explores the intersection of form, material, and narrative, bridging brand and packaging design with book and editorial craft.
Each project is guided by a meticulous attention to materials, print processes, and finishing techniques, transforming ideas into tactile, visual, and meaningful experiences.
Typography, binding, and surface treatments are not merely functional—they become integral to the story each piece tells. All works presented are for exhibition and inspiration only, and reflect a commitment to craft, detail, and thoughtful design.
Branding and Packaging Design:
Structural & Materials:
Material Selection, Sustainable Substrates, Print Production, Physical Color Management, CMYK Calibration, Physical object and 3D prototyping.
Printing & Finishing:
Offset, digital, flexography, screen printing, foil stamping, embossing, UV coating
Prototyping & Visualization:
3D modeling, mockups, rendering
Book & Print Design
Printing:
UV, Digital, Lithography, Screen Printing, Risograph Printing, 3D Printing
Binding Techniques:
Coptic, hardcover, softcover, saddle stitch
Layout & Typography:
Grids, paragraph formatting, font selection, page design
Special Materials & Crafts:
Handmade paper, foil, embossing, hand-painted covers
Printing & Color Management:
Digital printing, CMYK calibration, high-precision reproduction
Large Format & Promotional Prints:
Posters, brochures, exhibition catalogs
Relevant Positions
Packaging Designer
Structural Designer
Print Designer
Art Director
Material Designer
Visual Designer
Book Designer
Bookbinder
Layout Designer
Graphic Designer
Print Designer
Visual Designer
Packaging Designer
Structural Designer
Print Designer
Art Director
Material Designer
Visual Designer
Book Designer
Bookbinder
Layout Designer
Graphic Designer
Print Designer
Visual Designer